Exclusive Interview: Richard Durand

Dutchman Richard Durand is without a doubt one of the most influential DJ’s in the scene right now. Recommended by the mighty Tiësto as ‘Tip For The Top in 2007’ in DJ Magazine. Currently placed at #89 in the yearly Top 100 DJs poll. And do not forget the legendary ‘In Search Of Sunrise’ series of CDs previously fronted by Tiësto.

Last month he released his third artist album named “Richard Durand versus The World” on Black Hole Recordings. I had the chance to do an exclusive interview with Richard and asked him about his new album, career, biggest successes and al lot more. Enjoy!

Interview:

01. Hi, Richard. How are you doing?
Everything is great here, I have just come back from a short vacation in Cape Town.

02. You recently released your third artist album called “Richard Durand vs. The World” on Black Hole Recordings. The production of this album was pretty unique. How did you come up with this concept?
That’s right it is a unique album, it consists of my own tracks and of those I produced with other known producers. I also put a competition on Facebook , you could enter per continent. I put a base track with loose parts online, everyone from that continent could make his or her version, a winner was chosen and I than finished the track. It was fun to do and with surprising results.

04. What kind of hard and software did you use during the production of this album?
I always with with Mac, there I use soft instruments like, massive, nexus, sylenth etc, and that uses Logic.

05. What has been your biggest inspiration during the production of this album?
That’s a difficult question, I think a little of everything. Travelling and playing, the reactions of the public and that of friends have a big influence on what I do in the studio.

06. Which track on “Richard Durand vs. The world” is your personal favorite and why?
That is “take your time’, the collaboration with Dennis Sender. The track is beautifully balanced and has a very special melody I think. Maybe not a floor filler but I am very happy with it.

07. You started your career as a professional DJ/Producer in 2005. What was your life like before you became a DJ/Producer?
Around that time I started with Richard Durand, before this I was very busy with edm, but mostly in the Netherlands. This was under another name, so I have been in the music business since 1997, before this I was 4,5 years in the army.

08. At what point did you realize that you could make a sustainable career in the music industry?
Hahaha, I knew around my 12th birthday that my future was in music. Once my first tracks were bought out and I got my first bookings, everything became real and I knew I was being taken seriously.

09. A lot of DJ/Producers have a recognizable sound. How would you describe the typical Richard Durand sound?
That is difficult, there are so many different styles at the moment, I think I make trance but sometimes it has a techno of progressive edge, but sometimes it is also very accessible. I don’t want to educate people with my music, I want them to understand it and enjoy it straightaway.

10. What do you see as your biggest success so far?
I think they are two remixes I have made, one from Tiesto “Lethal Industry” RD remix, and two, The Art of Trance “Madagascar’ RD remix.

11. If you could perform at any place in the world, where would it be and why?
Somewhere on a beach with a really good sound system and a minimum of 100,000 people, that I think would be a really cool party hahaha!

12. What is your favorite track of 2012 so far?
Ummet Ozcan – The Box

13. What can we expect from you in the near future?
Of course a new ISOS 2013, and being busy with new productions and playing great gigs on great locations.